MINISTER FOR Defence Willie O’Dea has been advised to commission the building of a replica Asgard II for the national sail training programme.
The Minister has been advised to leave the existing wooden-built brigantine on the seabed off northwest France, and to build a steel replacement on safety and cost grounds.
The recommendations have been made by Coiste an Asgard, the committee which manages the sail training programme on behalf of the Department of Defence.
The committee commissioned an initial survey of the vessel last September, several weeks after it sank some 22km (13½ miles) west of Belle-Ile while en route to La Rochelle.
All 25 crew and trainees were evacuated safely to life rafts when the ship began taking in water in the early hours of September 11th. They were picked up by the French rescue services, and the 27-year-old brigantine sank several hours later.
The initial survey showed that the ship was sitting upright and in good condition in some 83m of water. Images showed damage to one of its planks which may have been consistent with a collision.
Mr O’Dea was urged to commission a salvage operation before winter closed in on the Bay of Biscay. The vessel was insured for €3.8 million.
Although tenders were sought from three salvage firms, no decision was taken before Christmas and a second survey was then sought by Coiste an Asgard. In January the ship’s master, Capt Colm Newport, expressed confidence that the vessel was in good enough condition to be raised.
However, bad weather prevented use of the remotely operated vehicle to film the hull during the second survey, although a depth sounder image confirmed the vessel was still on the seabed.
Coiste an Asgard now believes that the insurance money would best be spent on building a steel replacement, given that the cost of salvage could be €2 million and weather dependent. It is understood that the committee also believes that the cost of restoration after salvage could be prohibitive, and prospective trainees might not wish to sail on a ship that had already sunk.
Some sail training organisations prefer to rely on steel vessels for safety reasons, and because of the cost of maintaining wooden ships.
Speaking on the issue in the Dáil last week, Mr O’Dea said that, “we must apply hard logic in making these decisions; one cannot make a decision based on emotion”.
He added that there were “a number of difficulties with the [proposed] salvage operation”.